The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has launched the “Cities for our Future” competition in partnership with the U.K. National Commission for UNESCO and the Association of Commonwealth Universities. The challenge calls on young people to come up with new ideas to help tackle the most pressing problems affecting cities in Europe and around the world.

The growth of the world’s cities is one of the biggest challenges facing society today. In all, 3 mln people move to cities every week; putting ever more strain on urban infrastructure and services. Many city dwellers live in slums or poor-quality housing; many put up with poor air quality and transport links.

With a prize of approximately EUR 56,000 for the global winner, entries will need to provide practical, innovative solutions to address some of these challenges.

Those entering the competition have been asked to propose solutions to issues affecting 24 cities, including Milan, Amsterdam and Budapest:

- Entrants are asked to consider how cities can reduce the space required for car parking to make more room for green spaces or affordable housing.

- Entrants are asked to consider what popular tourist cities, can do to ensure they remain great places to live for residents.

- Entrants are asked to consider how cities, undergoing rapid regeneration, can ensure that local communities share the benefits of major infrastructure spending.

“The world’s cities are growing all the time, creating a range of challenges that will need to be addressed if they are to become safe, clean and comfortable places to live,” said RICS CEO Sean Tompkins.

“Throughout the Royal Institution’s 150 years, chartered surveyors have been crucial to urban development all over the globe and we are proud to be running this competition to find innovative and practical ideas to improve our cities,” Tompkins added.